Dog racing device



Jan- 5, 1932. B. D. SMlTH DOG RACING DEVICE 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet FiledJune 13,

r j E 2 Jan. 5, 1932. 5,13, SMITH 1,839,351

DOG RACING DEVICE Filed June 15, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 5, 1,932. a.D. SMlTH DOG RACING DEVICE Filed June 13, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet s w F's u2?;

gwocwtoz Patented Jan. 5, 1932 warren s'r rss r racer; rare BLANCHARDI). SMITH, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOYIISIANA.

DOG RACING DEVICE Application filed June 13,

My invention relates to improvements in do 1 racing devices or the likeand norc'partic lariy to a system i r propel-ling a lure ab ut a dogracing or similar track. .5) Heretofore it has been customary to supportthe lure on an armcarried by atruck arranged at the side of the track.This arrangement has several disadvantages. The installation isexpensive, the projecting arm is unsightly, detracts from the glamor ofthe race and is a potential danger to the dogs. The noise caused by thetruck also detracts from the efiectiveness of the race. I An importantobject of my invention isto provide a lure propelling system andapparatus in'w-hich these disadvantages are obviated.

- Another object of my invention is the provision of a device or" thischaracter whichis inexpensive and easily installed, and one whichpractical and cfiicient in operation.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during thecourse of the following description. i

In the accompanying drawings which form apart of this specification, andwherein like, characters of reference denote like or corre spondingparts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a plan View of a race track having my invention appliedthereto, i Figure 2 is a longitudinal. section thereof, Figure 8 is atransverse section through a portion of the track, showing the positionof the lure, Y

Figure 4 is a detail view of the lure,

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view through a portion ot-the trackshowingone form of escape for the lure, c

Figure 6 is a detail View showing the ar- 49 rangeinent of the wires atthe escape,

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic View of the track showing one arrangement ofwires,

Figure 8 is a plan view showing a modified form of escape,

Figure 9 is a sideel-evat'on'thereof.

Figure 10 is a sectional view of a track having a modified formof thelure propelling system,; i I

Figure .11 is a front elevation of the wire 59 laying machine, the widthof the machine be- 1930. Serial No. 461,028, 7

stand'l9. T he inner fence 17 is provided with a series ofspaced posts20 extending upward lyund outwardly over the track. The usual lamps 21are secured to the'se' posts and light up the track for night racing.The upper and outer endsof the posts 20 support'a trolley or guide rail22 of any suite ableconstruction and material and this rail extendscontinuously around the track and at I asubstantial distance thereaboveji '1 he lure is provided with a tube 23 extendingthrough the frontportion thereof in a plane slightly inclined rearwardly from the.vertical. The tube is provided with flared ends and extends above andbelow the lure. A spring frame 24:, is secured to the tube 23 andsupports theusual lure 25; V v

I purpose to use a suitable wire, cord, thread or similar flexiblemember 26 to propel the lure about the track. To accomplish thispurpose, I bury the wire 'or other flexible member 26 in the trackadjacent the center thereof, and about an inch below the surface of thetrack. .The' buried wire circles the track one or more times, and itsfree end is threaded through the tube23 in the lure and passed over therail 22 to the center of the track. At the center of the track Iprovidea funnel shaped tube 27 h aving its flared end uppermost and extendingto a point substantially higher. than the rail 22.. The tunnel tube 2'?is supported. on a suitable stand 28.

A reel 29 is ournaled for rotation within the stand and has itsperiphery arranged adjacent and in linewith the lower open end of thefunnel tube 27. I I

In operation, the free end of the wire is passed through the tunnel tubeand secured to the reel 29. hen the race starts, the reel is rotated atthe required soeed by any suitable means, such as an electric motor (notshown) and the wire 26 is reeled in. As the wire passes over the rail22, the pull on the buried portion of the wire when the reel is rotated,is nearly vertical. This reeling in of the wire pulls up the buried wireprogressive ly around the track and causes the wire to slide along therail which is preferably greased. The lure, by reason of its weight,will slide down the wire and proceed around the track, following thepoint where the buried wire is being pulled from the ground. Due to thespring frame 24 and the tendency of the lure to be raised with the wire,the lure will travel around the track in a bounding manner simulatingthe actual running of a live rabbit. The wire will be inclinedbackwardly as it leaves the ground, as seen in Figures 1 and i, due tothe friction of the wire 26. along the rail 22.

The wire may be laid about the track in a continuous spiral with enoughturns to provide for all of the races, or a number of wires may bearranged about the track and their ends joined together. The lattermethod is preferred as it requiresonly two circuits of the track inlaying the wires.

The wires may be laid in any suitable manner. I have illustrated onemeans for accomplishing thispurpose in Figures 11 and 12. A pair oftriangular frames 30 support a wheeled shaft 31 at their apex and havetheir rear sides-extended upwardly to sup port a handle 32. Arrangedonthe shaft 31 to rotate therewith are a series of peripherally grooveddisks 33 which have a radius about one inch greater than the supportingwheels 3st. The disks 33 correspond in number to the number of races tobe run. and I have illustrated eight. Arranged at the forward apexes ofthe frames 30 is a reel shaft 35 which is removably j ournaled forrotation in suitable bearings 36. A series of reels are carried by theshaft 35 and each of the reels is aligned with one of the disks 33.Sufficient wire 26 is coiled on each reel to circle the track twice, andthe free end of each wire is passed under the adjacent disk, in theperipheral groove therein.

When the reel is moved along the track, the disks 33 will be pressedinto the ground by the weight of the machine augmented, if necessary, bya weight 39. The wires will be pressed into the ground and may becovered by a suitable drag or sled 38 which follows the reel. The wiresare preferably extended twice about the traclr to provide ample runningof the lure for each race. The ends of adjacent wires may then beconnected by means of a sheath or tube 39, see Figures 6, 8 and 9, whichis small enough to pass through the tube 23. The finishing end of thefirst wire is connected to the starting end of the second wire and so onuntil all of the wires are connected.

Any suitable form of escape for the lure may be provided. In Figures 5and 6 T have illustrated one form of escape. Adjacent the finish line ofthe race is a dummy fence ll) spaced inwardly from the outside fence 16and tapering rearwardly to the surface of the track. A cover block 41 isarranged above the dummy fence l0 on the inside of the fence 16 andcloses the space between the fences 16 and 40 except for a small slot 42left open above the fence T0 and winch widens at the rearward end of thedummy fence to provide an inlet for the lure.

The finish ends of the wires 26 are led through the flared end of theslot 42 and behind the fence lO, and then out into the center of thetrack. In Figure 6 the relative positions of the wires are shown, theirsize being exaggerated for convenience of illustration. In order to usethe dummy fence escape it is necessary to interlace the wires. Startingwith four races to be run, the wire a leaves the escape, circles twiceabout the track and then crosses over the wires 6, c and (Z and entersthe escape where it is connected to the starting end of wire I). Thewires that cross the traclr to enter the escape must pass under thewires which are first pulled up and over the other wires. i Vire a whencrossing the track must pass over wires Z), c and (Z and under wire a.Wire 1) must pass over wires 0 and (Z and under wires (6 and 5. TV ire 0must pass over wire (Z and under wires a, band 0.

Figure 7 shows diagrammatically the course which the wires take in twicecircling the track.

In Figures 8 and 9 I have shown another form of escape for the lure. Anescape box: as is provided with an open rear end and an open lower side.An opening {t l is arranged in the top of box 43 adjacent the forwardend thereof and is connected to the rear of the box by a slot dowhichincreases in width as it approaches the rear of the box and is flaredoutwardly at its rearward end. A pair of flaps i6 of flexible materialare joined to the sides of the box and converge inwardly. The escape boxis placed over the finish end of th wire 26 and the lure will enterthrough the flaps 46, the wire being guided into the open ing 4A by theflared slot 4-5. The box will be carried along the track by the wire 26until the reel 28 is stopped, and the lure will be concealed by theflaps 4E6. The bQX l3 may then be removed for the start of the nextrace. I

When the escape box as is used is not necessary to interlace the wiresbut they may be arranged in a continuous spiral.

In Figure 10 I have provided a modil cation of my invention in which thewires are not buried in the track. An annular gutter a lit stand 19.

is formed around the track by means of a continuous strip 47 secured tothe inner fence 17 adjacent the bottom thereof, and the Wires are coiledabout the inner fence-below the strip 47. When the wire is reeled in,the lure will be kept out on the track in theposition shown in Figure bycentrifugal force ucting in. the direction of the arrow.

Another alternative is shown in Figures 13 and 14-, A tube e8 is buriedin the track and is provided wit-ha narrow slot as on'its upper side.The wire 26 is arranged in the tube and is pulled through the slot l9whichis so narrow that the dogs feet cannot be caught therein.

Very fine wire may be used, or if desired,

waxed shoemakers thread may be substituted for the wire. At night timethe 4 ire or thread will be invisible and the lure will seem to bemoving under its own volition. J 1- The rail 22 is arranged at such aheight that the incoming wire will clear the judges The wires may belaid in the afternoon before the races and the small furrow left by thepulled in wire will not affect the racing animals. T le track need notbe leveled before laying the wires.

If desired the lure may be raised from the track at the end of the race,as by means of a crosspiece, disk or enlargement secured to the wire asat in Figure 10, and of such size as to be incapable of passing throughthe tube 23.

It will be seen that T have provided a. lure propelling system which issimple,- effective and inexpensive to install and to operate and whichavoids the disadvantages of the usual lure propelling devices. l

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that various changes in the size,shape and arrangement of arts may be resorted to *ithout departing romthe spirit of my invention or the scope of the sub joincd claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protectby Letters Pat out is:

l. The combination with a race track, of a flexible member encirclingsaid track, a lure slidably engaging said flexible member, and means topropel said lure along said flexible l iember.

2. The combination with a race track, of a fiexiblememberencircling saidtrack, lure engaging said flexible member, and means to more saidflexible member relatively to the lure.

3. The combination with race track, of a Flexible member encircling saidtrack, a lure slidably engaging said flexible member, and means to exertan upward pull on flexible member to move said flexible relatively tothe lure.

circling said tracl; and arranged to pull said flexible member from the.4. The combination with a race track, of a flexible member encirclingsaid track, a lure .slidably engaging said flexible member, and

lure h avin guide member, a flexible meinber encir iing said track andhaving one end extending upwardly through ll d guide mem- 7 memberthrough the guide member of the lure.

7. The combination with a race track, of a lure having guide member,rail en- 7 t-hereabove, a flexible member encircling said track andhaving one end extending upwardly through the guide member of lure andover the rail, and means to pull said flexible member through the guidemember 01' the lure and over the rail.

8. The combination with a race track, of a reel, a tube extendingupwardly from said reel, a rail arranged about said track and asubstantial distance thereabove, a lure hava guide member, a flexiblemember arranged about said track andhaving one end extendedupwardlythrough the guide member ofthe lure, over the rail to the tube andoperate the reel to pull the He cleinember through the guide member-ofthe. lure and over the rail, whereby-the lure will be propelled aboutsaid "track. 7 V 9. The combination with a race track, of rail arran edabout said traclr'and a substan tial distance thereabove, a reel,a lurehaving an opening extendi upwardly therethrough, a runner arra god belowsaid lure, a flexible member arrai d about said track and'having one. oiits en s extended through the openin in the lure, and over therail tothe reel, whereby when the reelis-operated to pull in th ilfexiblemember, the lure will be propelled about the track.

10. The. combination with a race track, of a, lure having an openingtherein, a flexible member arranged beneath the surface of said rack andencircling the same, one end of said flexible member being extendedupwardly through the opening the lure, and 11143111118 el:

and-through the lure I .11. The combination with a race track, of

a rail arranged thereabout and a substantial distance thereabove, a lurehaving an open.- ing ext-ending upwardly therethrough, flex ible memberarranged beneath the surface of her oi the lure, and means to pull saidflexible said track and encircling said track, one end of said flexiblemember being passed through the opening in the lure and over the rail,and means to pull the flexible member from the track and through thelure.

12. The combination with a race track, of a rail arranged thereabout anda substantial distance thereabove, a lure having an openingextendingupwardly therethrough, a flexible member embedded in the soilof said track and encircling the track, one end of said flexible memberextending through the opening in the lure and over the rail, a reeladapted to engagethe flexible member and pull it from the soil of thetrack.

13. The combination with a race track, of a rail arranged thereabove, alure having an opening extending upwardly therethrough, a relativelythin flexible member embedded in the soil of said track and encirclingthe track, one end of said flexible member extending through the openingin the lure and over the rail, a reel, and a tube extending upwardlyabove said reel, the flexible member passing downwardly through the tubeto the reel, whereby the reel will operate to pull the flexible memberfrom the soil of the track and propel the lure about the track.

14. The combination with a race track, of a lure having an openingtherethrough, a flexible member arranged below the surface of the trackand having one end passed upwardly through the opening in the lure,means to pull the flexible member through the lure and away from thetrack to propel the lure about the track, and an escape for said lurearranged above a portion of said flexible member.

15. The combination with a race track, of a lure having an openingtherein, a resilient runner arranged below said lure, a flexible memberarranged about said track and having one end threaded through theopening in the lure, and means to pull the flexible member through thelure to propel the lure about the track;

18. The combination with a race track, of a lure having an openingtherethrough, a tube embedded in the track and extending thereabout, andhaving a slot in the upper side, a flexible member arranged in said tubeand having one end passed through the slot therein and upwardly throughthe opening in the lure, and means to pull the flexible member throughthe lure.

19. The combination with a race track, of a gutter arranged about saidtrack adjacent the inner edge thereof, a flexible member arranged aboutthe track and in said gutter, a rail arranged above said track, a lurehaving an opening therethrough, the flexible member being passed throughthe lure and over the rail, and means to pull the flexible member overthe rail to propel the lure about the track in a path spaced from theinner edge of the track.

In testimony whereof I affix my si nature.

BLANCHARD D. S 1TH.

16. The combination with a race track, of

a lure having an opening extending upwardly therethrough, a resilientrunner arranged beneath the lure, a flexible member arranged about saidtrack and embedded therein, said flexible member having one end threadedthrough the opening in the lure, and means to pull the flexible memberthrough the lure and out of the track to propel the lure about saidtrack.

17 A device for propelling an object over the ground, the object havingan opening ex tending upwardly therethrough, comprising a flexiblemember embedded in the ground, the end of the flexible member passingthrough the opening in the object to be propelled, and means for pullingthe flexible member upwardly through the object to be propelled and awayfrom the ground.

